Plenty of changes for UFC 157's Urijah Faber since first fight with Menjivar

The only constants for Urijah Faber (26-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) since his first fight with Ivan Menjivar (25-9 MMA, 4-1 UFC) are his management and their status as top fighters.

Everything else has changed.

The bantamweights rematch at UFC 157, six years after they first met at a now-defunct promotion in Quebec, Canada, and both can now make a living in the sport.

Back then, Faber defined himself by his struggle to become a fighter known the world around.

“Nothing did anything for my career at this time,” the former WEC champ, who recently inked a big sponsorship deal with cell provider MetroPCS, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “There was no opportunity.”

Faber said the promoters who employed him in his first 11 fights were adamantly against him competing elsewhere, and he had to call a lawyer friend to give him a reprieve from his contract. That friend, and another who first sponsored him, now represent him outside the cage.

“It was a time to rebel,” Faber said.

But it was certainly a cottage rebellion. He was accompanied on his trip to Quebec by two buddies who had never fought professionally (one had wrestled). Faber wasn’t prepared when no one spoke English. The bout was held in an ice skating rink.

Faber had done his homework on Menjivar, who had already fought future UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and the man who would later take that belt, Matt Serra.

But he admits he was a one-dimensional fighter, primarily looking to take the fight down against his striking savvy opponent.

“I wanted to go out and fight all the best guys, which is what I’ve always been about,” Faber said.

Because there was no lighter weight divisions in the UFC, Faber’s goal was to win the TKO lightweight belt from Mark Hominick, who would shortly thereafter upset Yves Edwards in the first 155-pound bout inside the octagon in two years. Faber had already won belts in King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge and the WEC.

Faber remembers a close first round punctuated by the ineffectual coaching of his wrestling buddy, who screamed “No!” whenever the fight was standing.

“I had lost to Tyson Griffin (via TKO) a couple fights before that,” Faber said. “When he saw me standing up, he was just screaming, ‘No!’ I was thinking, ‘What the hell is he yelling at?'”

The second frame was closer, but the bout was marred by complications.

“I did a standing switch and I think we hit heads as I was going down on the ground, and Ivan threw a kick at the same time I was down,” Faber said. “I fell down and bounced back up and his kick barely grazed me, but because of the headbutt, I had a gash on my eyebrow, and he’d thrown that illegal kick. But because he’d thrown the illegal kick, they wouldn’t know what the cut was from, and they gave me the decision.”

Faber’s attempts to restart the bout proved fruitless, and also a bit foul.

“I remember the doctor stunk – oh my gosh,” he said. “He had the worst B.O. I went over to the corner, and I was trying to talk him into letting me fight, and he didn’t speak any English and he stunk to high heaven.

“I was confused as to what happened. I felt like I could have continued. There was a pretty big gash on my eyebrow, but it wasn’t impairing my vision.”

The final decision, a disqualification win for Faber, was doubly disappointing for Menjivar, who had narrowly missed weight the day before and had been forced to pad Faber’s pockets with 20 percent of his purse.

Faber left Quebec feeling like he hadn’t won anything.

“I definitely didn’t feel like I lost – that’s for sure,” he said. “But I felt bad.”

It would be another year before Faber would get the call to defend his WEC belt in the newly revamped WEC, which was purchased by UFC parent Zuffa in 2006, and four years before the promotion would be folded into the industry-leading promotion.

Faber would become the breakout star of the WEC, while Menjivar would briefly dip his toe into the promotion before both migrated.

Menjivar has built a 4-1 record inside the octagon, earning a three-fight win streak out of the gate. Faber, who headlined the WEC’s only pay-per-view effort and fought to sold-out crowds in his native Sacramento, Calif., has struggled to regain his footing, losing decisions to UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao for the interim belt.

However, both fighters, who scaled down to 135 pounds after stints at 155 pounds and above, remain in the top-10 of the bantamweight class. Despite his setbacks, Faber’s star power makes him something of a perennial contender.

But with a loss to Menjivar, that status could be taken away.

Faber said the fight, which serves on the pay-per-view main card of 157 on Feb. 23 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., is the second proposed meeting between the two. He said UFC President Dana White told him they would fight when champ Cruz was forced out of a rematch with a torn ACL, but instead, he fought Barao.

“I’m excited,” Faber said. “Menjivar has always been very well-rounded, but he’s definitely made improvements over time. So it’s one of those things that I’ve definitely made the larger improvements, but that’s because I was a lot worser the first time we fought.

“I think I’m probably 10 pounds heavier walking around than I was in 2006, even though I’m fighting in a weight class below, and he’s probably a lot smaller. He’s smaller, I’m bigger, we’re both better.”

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